President Robert Caret says UMass will help foster innovative industry in region
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HOLYOKE - University of Massachusetts is poised to work with communities to attract innovative industry to the region, UMass President Robert L. Caret told local leaders and business owners Thursday.
Caret outlined plans to foster the growth of science, information technology and other industries in communities around the Amherst campus, in remarks to the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce's annual Economic Development Breakfast at the Log Cabin.
"We'll continue to pick those areas where we can work well together and help each other," he told the crowd of more than 100 people, many of whom wore green "grow Holyoke" buttons. "We'll figure out ways ... that we can do what we do best, and that's getting people educated to do great research and development and make life better for everybody in Massachusetts."
The optimistic tone of the gathering was tempered with realism, however, as Caret and local leaders who spoke recognized economic challenges facing their communities.
State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, said lowering the unemployment rates of 10 percent in Holyoke and Springfield would not be easy.
"But the university in our backyard in Amherst is part of an engine for the Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Westfield and Agawam region," he said. "And it's so critical to providing jobs and opportunities for families here."
Caret first visited Holyoke as UMass president in November, during a 400-mile, four-day bus tour he took across Massachusetts to familiarize himself with the state after his inauguration.
The university's "external mission" to partner with and improve communities around the state would not overlook Holyoke, he said Thursday. He called the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center under construction in Holyoke "an amazing example of a group of partners doing together what they could never do alone."
'Set of partners'
The $168 million center, scheduled to be completed by year's end, will feature the newest technology to allow for high-speed research on a variety of topics. It was made possible by a collaboration among the state, two technology companies and five colleges and universities, including UMass, which gave $10 million for the project.
"It's a real set of partners that are bringing that new institution out of the ground," Caret said.
He and other college administrators are working to answer the next question facing them, Caret said.
"Once you build this thing, what do you do with it?" he asked. "There are a lot of ideas out there about how we can use this thing effectively to really enrich the research enterprise, but also enrich the economic vitality of the region."
The university is also working with the Holyoke Information District Task Force to determine how the computing facility might attract other innovative businesses to the district, he said.
By stepping up the university's STEM education - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - Caret said he hopes to better prepare graduates for the kinds of jobs that would become available at the computing center and in other innovative industries.
"We have people from EMC Corp. telling us that they have a 10 percent vacancy," he said of the technology company. "They can't find employees with the right skill sets to take those jobs."
He said the university can change that by continuing to "build the pipeline of STEM programs" so students see STEM as an appealing college major and possible career path. He added that the university will focus more on "career awareness" in all areas, not just STEM, to increase graduates' readiness to enter the job market.
An R&D leader
Caret said the university is a leader in research and development compared to other colleges in the state. He sees that as another way UMass could help bring innovation and jobs to the Pioneer Valley.
Life sciences, including health sciences and "translational" sciences, are key to his plan. Caret described translational sciences as "taking the products from the (laboratory) bench top to production scale, so they can actually better the community."
The UMass Amherst campus is slated to build a new life sciences facility "with a focus on industrial collaboration" in the next three or four years, he said.
He said the college's work in developing technology for precision manufacturing, as well as nanotechnology, could also benefit the local manufacturing industry, which is moving toward those kinds of "advanced manufacturing."
He also discussed creating "program centers" in which state colleges and universities offer programs to communities that need them. He said a pilot program center is in the works - and hinted Holyoke would be a favorable location.
Caret noted that UMass has worked with Springfield Technical Community College to create and run a business incubator on the Springfield campus. It will offer affordable office space to new businesses, as well as free support services to help them get up and running.
Since more than 80 percent of UMass graduates stay in the state after they graduate, Caret said, the university plays a unique role compared to other colleges in terms of shaping the young people who will become integral parts of the state's economy. What's next is implementing the "external mission," which Caret admitted is easier said than done.
"Trying to focus a $3 billion enterprise is not as easy as it sounds," Caret said. "Just because I say something should happen doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen. There can be resistance out there, and we need to change a number of things we're doing and do some things better than we have in the past."
Rebecca Everett can be reached at reverett@gazettenet.com.
